Thursday, July 23, 2009

Thank you Jack ...

OK full disclosure - I am a Liberal voter, not a New Democrat here in Canada. However I want to give Jack Layton, the leader of the Federal New Democratic Party (NDP) props for going on MSNBC down in the states yesterday to stand up for something that most TRUE Canadians believe in (and no, that evil witch masquerading as a Canadian who does anti-public option ads in the states does NOT count) - universal, single-payer (ie public) healthcare.

One of the things the Republicans throw out when attacking Barack Obama and the Democrats' attempts at healthcare reform, is that they want to bring a Canadian-style public healthcare system to the States. Of course, rather than say "Why the heck not?", the response is "Nononono, we would never do that". Leaving us Canadians, who are very, very proud of our public healthcare system, wondering what's so wrong with us, and why our 'healthcare for all!' policy is so very unattractive.

That is why I am posting the video below - when my son was born, he was very high-risk and high-needs. Through any testing, assessment, care, that he has needed as a result of his premature birth etc., our healthcare system was there; we did not need to pay for his hospital stay, medications, followup visits, developmental screenings, or anything. Nor did we have to wait more than a week for anything, nor did a dime come out of our pockets save as taxpayers. No matter what Brits or Canadians sell their souls to appear in anti-healthcare ads in the states, I want it known, and am glad Jack Layton does too, that we Canucks as a whole are very, very proud of a system that, while it has its flaws, is far from completely broken.

(and might I add that to the extent it is, it's that it doesn't cover ENOUGH, not that it covers too much - next up? dental care, vision care, mental health coverage ...)